Chair with ice bucket armrests

ABSTRACT

A chair including an armrest having an inner chamber arranged to hold a liquid, an outer surface, and a plurality of apertures extending from the outer surface to the inner chamber, wherein the plurality of apertures is arranged to drain the liquid out of the inner chamber such that the liquid coats at least a portion of the outer surface of the armrest as the liquid drains from the inner chamber.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to chairs and ice buckets. Inparticular, the invention relates to chairs having ice buckets for arms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Lounge chairs and ice buckets are both well known. Lounge chairs aregenerally arranged to provide comfortable sitting in contexts such asbeaches and pools. Ice buckets are arranged to provide housing for iceand beverages in order to cool the beverages. Chairs having armscomprising containers arranged to hold ice and/or liquid for coolingbeverages are also known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,544 (Goodman)discloses a combination beach chair and cooler, wherein the arms of thebeach chair comprise thermal-insulated containers operatively arrangedto store and cool beverages. This arrangement is intended to provide auser sitting in the chair convenient access to the beverages.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,289 (McBride) discloses a chair with arms comprisingwater basins for the purpose of mitigating heat strain. A user immerseshis forearms and hands in the water-filled basins as he sits, therebycooling his extremities and mitigating heat strain.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,215 (DeMars) discloses a foldable chair havingarmrests and an insulated container attached to each armrest. Thecontainers, which are intended to be used as coolers, join together whenthe chair is folded.

However, none of the above references disclose a chair with armrestsincluding ice buckets built into the armrests for cooling beverages,where the ice buckets further include a plurality of small drainageapertures in at least one side that assist in producing a uniqueaesthetic effect of a flowing watery surface.

Thus, there is currently no chair that is used at the beach, pool, orthe like, which includes armrests which can hold ice for coolingbeverages, and a plurality of small drainage openings for producing aunique aesthetic effect of a flowing water surface.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention broadly comprises a chair, which includes anarmrest having an inner chamber arranged to hold a liquid, an outersurface, and a plurality of apertures extending from the outer surfaceto the inner chamber, wherein the plurality of apertures is arranged todrain the liquid out of the inner chamber such that the liquid coats atleast a portion of the outer surface of the armrest as the liquid drainsfrom the inner chamber.

The inner chamber operates as an ice bucket for cooling a user'sbeverage. The drainage openings operate to produce the aesthetic effectof a flowing watery surface when water produced by melted ice drains outof the chamber through the openings. In one embodiment the chair is alounge-style chair. In another embodiment of the invention, the seat ofthe chair is made of a water resistant foam. In another embodiment ofthe invention, the armrest includes a lid. In yet another embodiment,the armrest includes a cup-holder.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the armrest resembles atleast one oversized ice cube. When water drains out of the apertures,the aesthetic effect, as described above, coupled with the arm'sresemblance of an ice cube produces the visual effect of a melting icecube.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the armrest resembles acresting wave of water. When water drains out of the apertures, theaesthetic effect, as described above, coupled with the arm's resemblanceof a wave of water produces the visual effect of a flowing wave ofwater.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a comfortablesitting or lounging apparatus for use at a beach, pool, or the like.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a chair witharmrests which can hold ice for cooling a beverage or other items.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a chairaccording to the above objects, where the armrest exhibits a uniqueappearance of a flowing watery surface.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will bereadily appreciable from the following description of preferredembodiments of the invention and from the accompanying drawings andclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The nature and mode of operation of the present invention will now bemore fully described in the following detailed description of theinvention taken with the accompanying drawing figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chair including ice bucket armrests;

FIG. 1A is a view of the back of the chair shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 1B is a view of the bottom of the chair shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the armrest shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the armrest shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 withthe lid removed, revealing an inner chamber;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the armrest taken generally alongline 4-4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is substantially the same cross-sectional view as FIG. 4, butwhere the inner chamber is filled with ice and water;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view generally of the area circled in FIG.5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of armrest for thecurrent invention chair;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the second embodiment armrest shown inFIG. 7, with the lid removed, revealing an inner chamber;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of armrest for thecurrent invention chair, which includes a cup-holder; and,

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the third embodiment of armrest,taken generally along line 10-10 in FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

At the outset, it should be appreciated that like drawing numbers ondifferent drawing views identify identical, or functionally similar,structural elements of the invention. While the present invention isdescribed with respect to what is presently considered to be thepreferred aspects, it is to be understood that the invention as claimedis not limited to the disclosed aspects. Also, the adjectives, “top”,“bottom”, “right”, “left”, “front”, “back”, and their derivatives, inthe description herebelow, refer to the perspective of one facing theinvention as shown in the figure under discussion.

Furthermore, it should be understood that this invention is not limitedto the particular methodology, materials and modifications described andas such may, of course, vary. It should also be understood that theterminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularaspects only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the presentinvention, which is limited only by the appended claims.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods, devicesor materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be usedin the practice or testing of the invention, the preferred methods,devices, and materials are now described.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of loungechair 10 including armrest 12 and seat portion 14. In the preferredembodiment shown, armrest 12 substantially resembles a stack of fouroversized ice cubes. In the shown embodiment, the armrest is made of oneice bucket block 20 and three support blocks 22. Each ice bucket block20 includes lid 24 and plurality of apertures 26. In the preferredembodiment shown, seat portion 14 resembles an oversized replica an icepop contained in a cellophane tube. In other embodiments, the seatportion may resemble a surfboard, a tube of sunscreen, an ordinary beachchair, or any of a limitless number of ornamental shapes and designs.

Hence, it should be appreciated that only one preferred embodiment ofchair 10 is shown. In another embodiment, seat portion 14, which isshown generally in a lounge position may be repositioned in asubstantially sitting position. Alternatively, seat portion 14 may beadjustable, as is known in the art, so that the chair can be adjustedinto a substantially sitting or substantially lounging position, or anyother position in between, as desired by the user.

Additionally, in a preferred embodiment, seat portion 14 is made from aweather resistant material; preferably including resistance from water,salt water, chlorinated water, UV light, moderate impacts, and mildew.One such material that has been found is a closed cell foam, such as thefoam offered by Spongex, LLC. Preferably, seat portion 14 is shaped andgets strength to support a person's weight by coating or covering arigid frame in the general shape of the chair with fabric or foam.Covering a rigid frame in material to make a chair is known in the art,and any method of making such a chair by covering or coating a rigidframe with material may be used. Examples of some commonly shaped chairframes can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,708 (Natsu), U.S. Pat. No.4,725,094 (Greer), and U.S. Pat. No. D235,494 (Juergensonn), to namejust a few. The particular shape, style, and material of seat portion 14is not germane to the invention, and any seating means with accompanyingsupport means known in the art should be considered to be within thescope of the current invention.

In a preferred embodiment, support blocks 15 are located behind eacharmrest 12, and below seat portion 14, as is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.The seat portion rests on, and is preferably secured to, seat blocks 15to give the chair support and keep the seat portion up off the ground.Two seat blocks 15 are shown in the illustrated embodiment, but moreblocks could be used, if needed, to provide additional support orbalance. In an alternate embodiment, traditional leg pieces, such asthose made out of rigid frame segments, as shown in the United StatesPatents identified in paragraph directly above, could be substituted forseat blocks 15. The use of traditional frame-style legs may beadvantageous in one embodiment to provide additional support, but maynot be desired in other embodiments because the use of visible framesmay detract from the overall aesthetics of the chair. Similarly, in oneembodiment, portions of the rigid frames could be used in conjunctionwith seat blocks 15 to secure both armrests together underneath seatportion 14. This would provide support, but would not significantlydetract from the aesthetics of the chair, because the frame would remainsubstantially hidden from view.

A close up of armrest 12 is shown detached from chair 10 in FIG. 2. In apreferred embodiment, it can be seen that armrest 12 is comprised of icebucket block 20, and three support blocks 22. Lid 24 is shown atop icebucket block 20. A plurality of drainage apertures 26 are shown in thesides of ice bucket block 20. In a preferred embodiment armrest 12 isfabricated from a translucent plastic, and shaped and textured so as toresemble a stack of large ice cubes. Ice bucket block 20 shouldsubstantially resemble support blocks 22.

FIG. 3 shows armrest 12 with lid 24 removed. It can be seen that icebucket block 20 is substantially hollow, thus defining inner chamber 28.In a preferred embodiment, inner chamber 28 is filled with ice andperhaps water, to provide a space to store beverages in order to keepthe beverages cold. In the shown embodiment, the drainage apertures areshown in three sides of ice bucket block 20. However, in otherembodiments, the holes may be included in only one or two sides. Theexact number of apertures is not germane to the invention. The number,spacing, and size of the holes should be determined so that water candrain at such a rate to sufficiently provide a flowing watery surfaceeffect. The number, size, and spacing of the apertures may depend onmany variables, including the particular dimensions of any givenarmrest, and the volume of ice which is added to the inner chamber. Toprovide the best performance, the apertures should drain liquid at arate slow enough to allow the ice to melt, so that there is adequatewater in the inner chamber to enable the flowing watery surface effectfor a sufficient period of time, but fast enough so that the flowingwatery surface effect is clearly visible.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section of armrest 12 taken generally along line 4-4in FIG. 2. Inner chamber 28 is shown as a cavity within ice bucket block20, which is closable by lid 24. In a preferred embodiment, the lidincludes lip 30 which rests just inside inner chamber 28, and acts tohold the lid substantially in place. It can also be seen that apertures26 extend from outer surface 32 of cooler block 20 into inner chamber28. Support block 22 is shown as completely solid throughout, but itshould be understood that in another embodiment it may be partiallyhollow to reduce weight, conserve materials, or facilitate manufacture.

A cross-section of armrest 12 is also shown in FIG. 5. In this view, itcan be seen that inner chamber is filled with ice cubes 34 and water, asrepresented by the dashed lines. As ice 34 melts, it becomes water,which then drains from inner chamber 28 via apertures 26. As the liquiddrains out of the inner chamber, it coats outer surface 32 of thearmrest with layer of water 36. Layer of water 36 creates a uniqueaesthetic effect of a flowing watery surface, as mentioned supra. In theshown preferred embodiment, where armrest 12 resembles ice cubes, theflowing watery effect created by layer of water 36 creates the illusionthat the armrest is melting.

When lid 24 is removed ice 34 can be added to or removed from innerchamber 28. Lid 24 may be placed back on to slightly insulate the iceand keep it from melting too rapidly or to generally seal off andisolate inner chamber 28. However, it should be understood that icebucket block 20 is preferably not nearly as insulated as a traditionalcooler, because some degree of melting is required to enable the desiredflowing watery effect on the outer surface of the armrest.

During use of chair 10, lid 34 may simply be removed so that openedbeverage containers, be they bottles, cans, cups, or the like, can beinserted into the ice to keep the beverages cold, while at the sametime, close to the user of the chair. Alternatively, closed beveragecontainers may be placed inside the inner chamber with the ice so thatthey may be chilled for consumption at a later time. Furthermore, itshould be obvious that any other item which one might want chilled andreadily available while lounging at a beach or pool, such as ice cream,popsicles, or the like, could also be stored in the armrest.

A close up of the area boxed in FIG. 5 is shown in FIG. 6. Once again,it can be seen that water flows out of inner chamber 28 via apertures26, as indicated by a set of arrows at each of the four illustratedapertures. The drainage of water creates layer of water 36 on outersurface 32 of ice bucket block 20, and the surface of the support blockbelow the ice bucket block, which, as discussed supra, enables theaesthetic effect of a flowing watery surface.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a second embodiment of an armrest for thecurrent invention chair. In this embodiment, armrest 12 is replaced byarmrest 112. Armrest 112 includes wave ice bucket 120, lid 124, and aplurality of apertures 126 in outer surface 132. In FIG. 8, lid 124 isremoved, revealing inner chamber 128. Similar to inner chamber 28 inarmrest 12, inner chamber 128 is operatively arranged to be filled withice. As the ice melts, water will drain from apertures 126, and downsurface 132 of wave ice bucket 120. This will create the aestheticeffect of a flowing watery surface. Since armrest 112 is substantiallyshaped as a cresting wave, the flowing water effect will create theillusion that the wave is flowing.

A third embodiment of an armrest for the current invention is shown inFIGS. 9 and 10. In the third embodiment, armrest 212 replaces armrest12. Armrest 212 is substantially similar to armrest 12, and as a result,ice bucket block 220, support blocks 222, apertures 226, lip 230, andouter surface 232 are all essentially equivalent in function, structure,and operation to their corresponding counterparts described with respectto the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-6. The difference betweenarmrest 212 and armrest 12 is the addition of cup-holder 225 in armrest212. Therefore, when inner chamber 228 is filled with ice and coldwater, a beverage inserted into cup-holder 225 will stay chilled. Thecup-holder may have holes 225′ in the sides or bottom of the cup-holder,as shown, to allow cold water or cold air from the ice to contact thebeverage container to increase the cooling efficiency of the cup-holder.It should be apparent that any number of cup-holders could be included.Furthermore, cup-holders could be included in the support blocks, if thechilling of the beverage is not desired.

Although the ice-cube and cresting wave designs are the two preferredshapes for the armrest of chair 10, any number of other ornamentaldesigns could be used, and the present invention should not be limitedto the shown designs.

It should be further appreciated that several variations of the ice cubeembodiment are not shown, but are still within the scope of the presentinvention. For example, in an embodiment similar to the ice cubeembodiment shown in FIGS. 1-6, the armrest may include two ice bucketblocks, instead of just one, each of which sits atop a correspondingsupport block. Therefore, this embodiment would include two ice bucketblocks instead of one, and two support blocks instead of three.Likewise, each of the two top blocks may include separate lids, but theblocks may share a single, unified inner chamber that runs between them.If the inner chamber is shared by both top blocks, then apertures may beincluded in both top blocks, so that the flowing watery surface effectis provided on all of the blocks. Similarly, both top blocks may shareboth a single inner chamber and a single lid. Furthermore, it may beadvantageous for just one block to have a lid, but to have the innerchamber shared by both of the top blocks. In such an embodiment, thecup-holder could be built into the block which does not have a lid, andsince the inner chamber is shared between both top blocks, thecup-holder would still extend into the inner chamber, and thereforewould be able to chill a beverage. It should be readily apparent thatany number of blocks could be used, and that the above reasoning caneasily apply to other embodiments, regardless of the number of icebucket or support blocks.

Thus, it is seen that the objects of the present invention areefficiently obtained, although modifications and changes to theinvention should be readily apparent to those having ordinary skill inthe art, which modifications are intended to be within the spirit andscope of the invention as claimed. It also is understood that theforegoing description is illustrative of the present invention andshould not be considered as limiting. Therefore, other embodiments ofthe present invention are possible without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention.

1. An armrest for a chair comprising: an inner chamber arranged to holda liquid; an outer surface; and, a plurality of apertures extending fromthe outer surface to the inner chamber, wherein the plurality ofapertures is arranged to drain the liquid out of the inner chamber suchthat the liquid coats at least a portion of the outer surface of thearmrest as the liquid drains from the inner chamber.
 2. The armrestrecited in claim 1, further comprising a lid for opening and closing theinner chamber.
 3. The armrest recited in claim 1, wherein the armrest isshaped so as to substantially resemble at least one ice cube.
 4. Thearmrest recited in claim 1, wherein the armrest is shaped so as tosubstantially resemble a cresting wave.
 5. The armrest recited in claim1, furthering comprising a cup holder.
 6. The armrest recited in claim1, wherein the inner chamber is operatively arranged to also hold ice,and the liquid is primarily water that forms as a result of the icemelting.
 7. A chair comprising: a seat portion; and, an armrestincluding an inner chamber arranged to hold a liquid, an outer surface,and a plurality of apertures extending from the outer surface to theinner chamber, wherein the plurality of apertures is arranged to drainliquid out of the inner chamber, when the liquid is arranged therein,such that the liquid coats at least a portion of the outer surface ofthe armrest as the liquid drains.
 8. The chair recited in claim 7,wherein the chair is a lounge-style chair.
 9. The chair recited in claim7, wherein the seat portion of the chair is made from a water, UV light,and mildew resistant material.
 10. The chair recited in claim 7, whereinthe armrest is shaped to substantially resemble at least one ice cube.11. The chair recited in claim 7, wherein the armrest is shaped tosubstantially resemble a cresting wave.
 12. The chair recited in claim7, wherein the seat portion is substantially shaped to resemble an icepop in a cellophane tube.
 13. A chair comprising: a seat portion; and,an armrest, which includes: an inner chamber arranged to hold a liquid;a lid for closing the inner chamber; a cup-holder proximate to the innerchamber; an outer surface; and, a plurality of apertures extending fromthe outer surface to the inner chamber, wherein the plurality ofapertures is arranged to drain the liquid out of the inner chamber, suchthat the liquid coats at least a portion of the outer surface of thearmrest as the liquid drains from the inner chamber.